Puzzle & Code, the latest release from The New Dominions, is both very polished and completely ordinary. The tracklist is varied, showcasing artists such as Dadi Freyr, Sam Fischer, and Spencer Sutherland. But it also features some of the more overplayed songs of the past several years such as Wait A Minute!, Save Your Tears, and idontwannabeyouanymore. The mixes are very clean while highlighting the organic quality of the arrangements. And they have necessarily been enhanced by James Gammon to give the listener everything that the studio has to offer. The background vocals on tracks Wait A Minute!, Syncopate, Love is a Game, and Save Your Tears suffer from a lack energy. A diverse tracklist and pristine production are not enough to set Puzzle & Code apart from the hundreds of other albums just like it.

These arrangements never seem to reach out and grab the listener — if you are familiar with the original versions of these songs, chances are that you could guess what's going to happen next. The New Dominions are talented enough to put out more than transcriptions. There are exceptions though, such as Jack Kehoe's work on Archie, Marry Me and This City. The arrangements are textured and sincere, perfectly capturing the lyrics and allowing the soloists the chance to shine. Karin Kim's efforts also deserve special recognition on this album, especially for Edge of Seventeen. The track features Kim's arranging and performance abilities, and the results are beautiful. The arrangement is inspired, altering the original in exciting ways and always leaving the listener to wonder where the song will take us next. The arrangement, Gammon's production, and the talented voices of The New Dominions combine with the soloist to make Killer one of the most emotional tracks on the album.

There's no puzzle to solve here though, nothing to decode with this album. Puzzle & Code is definitely not in my top ten, but it's not in my bottom ten either. To remain relevant beyond the hundreds of a cappella groups doing the exact same thing and doing it better, The New Dominions will need to find something unique and energized to say with the group's arrangements and overall sound for their next album.

It's always nice to hear back from a group after some time has passed. It's been nearly three years since I've last reviewed an album from the New Dominions. It's kinda like catching up with an old friend, except this iteration of the New Dominions is not my favorite. Puzzle & Code is an album that has some potential but often falls flat due to a lack of energy.

Actually, much of this release feels incredibly flat to me. Music often needs to have some form of sound topography. Much like how a landscape has hills and valleys, so will a good musical performance. As I listen to pieces like Archie, Marry Me, I'm not hearing that soundscape. There is a lack of direction in the phrases. The phrases are many block chords that maintain one dynamic. There are no crescendos or diminuendos to make the individual notes interesting. Every backing phrase is sung at one dynamic level, and changes are sudden and noticeable. As a listener, I'm almost forced to pay attention only to the soloist. Noah McIntire has a delightfully sincere voice. However, they are often required to carry much of the piece on their shoulders, almost pulling the group along. Good backgrounds should be complementing the soloist, giving direction to the phrases and giving a foundation for the soloist to tell their story. Instead, it feels like the group is listening to the soloist tell their story.

Similarly, the group energy feels lacking at times. There is a difference between a piano dynamic and a piano dynamic with intention. There are so many times that the group feels like it's going through the motions, knowing the dynamics, but not giving them energy. Edge of Seventeen might have been my favorite piece if the energy was aligned with the track. The opening phrase has so much energy and shows where the piece wants to go. Karin Kim has a delightful power behind their voice. However, the background hits a peak of energy much earlier than the soloist. The group is singing the chorus at about a mezzo-forte energy while singing a forte dynamic. Even worse, the bridge has significant dynamic contrast, but the energy is at about that same mezzo forte level. The energy stagnates so heavily. Just having the ability in the studio to sing with energy would make drastic dynamic changes pop and make the huge moments shimmer.

There are moments where the group really starts to show their capabilities. Love is a Game best highlights this; Abby Rothenberg's solo is a mesmerizing dark low alto. The first chorus finally utilizes some dynamic flow, having the block chords swell to silence, which is a classic motif I love. The piece then just dances and flows. Karin Kim's arrangement works well to support the soloist, giving a foundation to just tell a story. The introduction of To Make You Feel My Love in the climax of the piece is a welcome addition. It's the first moment in the entire album where I saw the full force of what the New Dominions can do. Now, I just want more. There can be bigger dynamic contrasts, more unique ideas, and just overall more of what makes the group truly unique.

As I wind down my review on this album, I find Puzzle & Code teetering on the brink of average. There are good moments, and there are no truly bad moments. However, I find myself forgetting most of this album. Very little is notable, either for being truly remarkable or utterly terrible. It just fades into the back of my brain almost as quickly as it comes in. It poses a challenge to the New Dominions. There are hints across this album where the group delivers a great sound. If there are moments where the singers can be good, then there must be more. I want to hear what the group is truly capable of. This album isn't it, but I think there is the potential for something special in the near future.

In my review of Silver Linings, I noted that New Dominions have a solid foundation in mid-tempo power ballads and soft uptunes and I wanted to see them either further refine those types of songs or branch out into more diverse song choices. The group seems to have taken two steps forward and two steps back. This is positive progress on Puzzle & Code, even if the album on an overall level is not strictly better.

One of the steps forward is in the refinement of the overall sound. Blend between voice parts is more cohesive, and there is more investment into songs that cover higher highs and lower lows on the dynamics spectrum. These directly tackle points I brought up in my last review, and it's great to see the pursuit of growth, whether intentional or not on these fronts. It makes songs like Syncopate hook the listener way more easily when these potential distractions are way less present. The only apparent exception to this improvement is None of This Has Been About You, where balance issues and empty harmonies dampen a lot of the effect the original song has.

The other step forward is a stronger lean into more diverse song choices, and expression of the group's sound and space of these choices across the whole album. Think About Things comes in hot, cooling down into Archie, Marry Me two songs later, only to heat up seamlessly into Syncopate right after without making the transition jarring. This is great song pacing that is both diverse and coherent. The last few songs on the album start to get a bit more homogenous in tempo and pace, but that strong initial impression of the album's first half makes this more forgivable. As with Silver Linings, the more risk-taking songs that are also consistently executed become the biggest highlights.

Speaking of said highlights, it's hard to express how happy I am to have a super excellent a cappella cover of Think About Things. I adore the original song, and this is a fantastically faithful cover that's also confidently excellent in its own right. Infectiously energetic, unstoppable musical momentum, great sense of rhythm, all executed with a fantastic arrangement by Jack Kehoe and an amazing solo by Nick Martinez. This is the type of energy I wish The New Dominions could've carried through on the rest of this project. Sometimes they hit it, sometimes they get close, but too often the album actually leans hard into its biggest areas of growth.

Which brings me to the two steps back, or rather the one big step back: exploring the higher highs and lower lows has exposed a big need for more raw emotion from The New Dominions, especially in the ensemble sound. My favorite moments on the album are when the high-octane songs (such as Think About Things and Syncopate) are rhythm-based, but then I'm missing some of the raw energy that Edge of Seventeen needs. It's loud, but it's missing an edge; dynamics aren't just about volume, but about color choice in the voices. On the softer, more ballad-focused side, This City and Archie, Marry Me are missing a more vulnerable energy. Sometimes this energy is missing from both soloists and background voices, but sometimes there is a mismatch. Love is a Game and Killer both have the makings of a 5-scoring song, and soloists Abby Rothenberg and Logan Romberger, respectively, are putting a lot of great work in, but that work is weakened by the background vocals not following their emotional expression. To make these types of songs more convincing, risks need to be taken in the execution. This issue may have been on Silver Linings as well, but it is more apparent on Puzzle & Code given the song choice.

As an aside, I have pointed this out far too frequently recently: this album needs better liner notes. Credit the songwriters, not the original performers. Crediting the latter as the former is not acceptable, and with the internet at our fingertips, it's easier than ever for the group to find and credit the songwriters.

The New Dominions are venturing into more adventurous song choices and improved consistency, which is great to hear. Now, this new territory needs to be met with experimentation in color changes and more audible emotional investment. Even if Puzzle & Code is not strictly overall better than Silver Linings, it shows The New Dominions's willingness to make big leaps in the future, and I am happy that that potential is now available and ready to be tapped.